Because machines often operate in harsh environments and are continuously cycling through no load and relatively heavy loads, tires must be durable and not susceptible to flats. In fact, it has been found that although conventional pneumatic tires have adjustable compressions by increasing or decreasing air pressure and provide a smooth ride, pneumatic tires often are less durable than solid tires. However solid tires are known to provide a less than smooth ride and do not have an adjustable compression.
In order to provide sufficient durability, tires can be non-pneumatic, and thus, are comprised of solid or semi-solid products. Although the non-pneumatic tires are more durable than pneumatic tires, the non-pneumatic tires are often too stiff to provide a smooth ride and lack the contact area with the ground to provide relatively good traction. In order to improve the ride of the machine, some non-pneumatic tires include a radial band of unpressurized cavities, or recesses. The radial band lessens the stiffness and increases the deformation of the tire so it will ride better than a solid tire. Moreover, the cavities 30 permit the material to deflect by bending, rather than by either pure compression or stretching, thereby limiting the material strain while permitting substantial deflections, but the tire still provides a stiff ride more similar to a solid tire than a pneumatic tire.
One non-pneumatic tire is shown in U.S. Pat. No. D499,065, issued to Shapiro et al, on Nov. 30, 2004, and defines a radial band of aperatures, or cavities, that enable the tire to deform due to a load and provides an area of contact with the road that significantly decreases stiffness as compared to a solid tire. However, over the life of the tire, the tire may begin to lose stiffness beyond the original intent of the tire and may result in a loss in traction and load capability. Additionally, as ground conditions and use of the machine may vary, it is not possible to modify the stiffness of the tire to the applications, as may be done with a pneumatic tire. Further, as the tire is required to handle increasingly higher loads, the cavities may eventually collapse.
The present disclosure is directed at overcoming one or more of the problems set forth above.